Michael Ray Admits He Didn’t Realize Carly Pearce Was Into Him at First

Michael Ray and Carly Pearce are Nashville's new most-talked-about couple, but in a new interview, Ray admits that he initially didn't pick up on her signals that she was interested in him.

Speaking to Cody Alan on his radio program, After Midnite, Ray reveals that it was actually Pearce who started pursuing him, but he wasn't quite sure that's what was actually happening.

"She did all the work," he acknowledges, revealing that Pearce started sending him direct messages via Instagram "pretty heavily."

"I don't know if it's a guy thing, but I don't catch on to hints worth crap," Ray admits ruefully. "I was also afraid to be like, 'I think she's into me,' because I want to see her again. So if she's not into me, and I go in thinking she is, that's weird."

The couple have apparently been seeing each other for a while, but only recently started turning up on each other's social media accounts in public. They set the rumor mill grinding on Wednesday (July 18) when they engaged in an openly flirtatious display on Ray's Instagram, but Ray was still coy when asked about it at a press roundtable later that morning.

“When it comes time to talk about the dating life, it will come out,” he told reporters (quote via One Country). “She’s a great girl and I think that she’s an incredible person. Right now everything on both ends are about both our singles and both our music, and it’ll come out. She’s great, I’m a big fan. I’ll leave it at that.”

30-year-old Ray recently released his sophomore album, Amos, which contains the single "Get to You." 28-year-old Pearce is currently promoting "Hide the Wine." They confirmed their relationship less than a day later, when they both turned to Instagram to share a picture of themselves cuddled up backstage at the Grand Ole Opry. They revealed they first met at random at the Nashville Palace, a night both say "changed everything."